Review: Monument 14 by Emmy Laybourne

Title: Monument 14

Author: Emmy Laybourne site

Format: eARC, 294 pages

Release Date: 6/05/2012

Publisher: Feiwel & Friends (Macmillian)

Source: Netgalley

Challenges: Ebook Reading Challenge (hosted by Workaday Reads)

“Your mother hollers that you’re going to miss the bus. She can see it coming down the street. You don’t stop and hug her and tell her you love her. You don’t thank her for being a good, kind, patient mother. Of course not—you launch yourself down the stairs and make a run for the corner.

Only, if it’s the last time you’ll ever see your mother, you sort of start to wish you’d stopped and did those things. Maybe even missed the bus.

But the bus was barreling down our street, so I ran.

Fourteen kids. One superstore. A million things that go wrong.

In Emmy Laybourne’s action-packed debut novel, six high school kids (some popular, some not), two eighth graders (one a tech genius), and six little kids trapped together in a chain superstore build a refuge for themselves inside. While outside, a series of escalating disasters, beginning with a monster hailstorm and ending with a chemical weapons spill, seems to be tearing the world—as they know it—apart.”

-Goodreads

Basic Synopsis:

In the year 2024, Dean and his younger brother Alex get on the school bus in Monument, Colorado. Suddenly huge hail rains down on their town and kills many. After a near death experience escaping the bus, the14 surviving kids and their bus driver, Ms. Wooly, flee to a nearby super store. But when Ms. Wooly goes to find help, they end up on their own. Can they survive earthquakes, toxic chemicals, and just plain isolation?

Characters:

I liked Dean. I can’t quite put my finger on it, but there was something very authentic and human about him that I liked. He just wants to keep his brother safe and get Astrid to notice him. He’s also kind of an underdog of the group, and I’m a sucker for underdogs.

Plot and Story:

There is something indescribably fresh and real about Laybourne’s writing. It was good on the eyes if you know what I mean.  It was very fast paced, the story was always moving. And that’s a good thing for me. I was on the edge of my seat and my heart was actually beating with excitement at all the right parts. Oh, and that action packed, cliff hanger ending. I’m still buzzing about it. I need the sequel, like, NOW! I know I’m kind of all over the place, but there are s many things to like about this book.

Overall:

I was worried it would be, but Monument 14 isn’t your run of the mill post-apocalyptic. The premise isn’t the most original idea, but it is very well written and the story is quite a ride. If you’re into post-apocalyptic YA, I would definitely recommend Monument 14. I’m giving it 4.5 of 5 stars.

Future Release Review: Shadow and Bone by Leigh Bardugo

Title: Shadow and Bone

Author: Leigh Bardugo site

Format: ARC, 358 pages

Release Date: 6/03/2012

Publisher: Henry Holt and Co. (Macmillian)

Source: Received from publisher for review

“Surrounded by enemies, the once-great nation of Ravka has been torn in two by the Shadow Fold, a swath of near impenetrable darkness crawling with monsters who feast on human flesh. Now its fate may rest on the shoulders of one lonely refugee.

Alina Starkov has never been good at anything. But when her regiment is attacked on the Fold and her best friend is brutally injured, Alina reveals a dormant power that saves his life—a power that could be the key to setting her war-ravaged country free. Wrenched from everything she knows, Alina is whisked away to the royal court to be trained as a member of the Grisha, the magical elite led by the mysterious Darkling.

Yet nothing in this lavish world is what it seems. With darkness looming and an entire kingdom depending on her untamed power, Alina will have to confront the secrets of the Grisha…and the secrets of her heart.”

-Goodreads

Basic Synopsis:

Alina and Mal have been best friends since they were very young, orphaned by a centuries old war. Although she wishes they were more, Mal is oblivious to her feelings. In an emergency situation she accidentally reveals the power she didn’t know she had. She is the long awaited Sun Summoner, a Grisha. The only one who can destroy the Fold. She is whisked away from Mal and taken to the King’s Palace to live with the other Grisha and learn to use her power.

Characters:

Alina was very likable. She’s witty, humble, and self confident with a strong moral compass. She’s just trying to find her place in the world, trying to find where she belongs. Alina and Mal were really funny together. The banter between them was actually believable, not the usual obviously scripted repartee.  

Plot and Story:

For awhile it looked like this book was going to be imaginative, but predictable. All of the pieces were fitting together into the assumed puzzle when BOOM! Out of the blue, there’s a really big twist that I didn’t see coming. Huge game changer. It totally knocked my socks off. (Not that I was wearing any) And basically right there and then, my liking of this book went from 3.5 stars to 5 full blown freaking stars.

What really sets this book apart from other fantasy novels is the superb world building. I was instantly immersed in this fantasy world that could be set in the very distant past or future. And it was incredibly easy to understand what was going on. I really liked how the language and terms were drawn from foreign languages such as Russian.

Overall:

I honestly wasn’t expecting to love this book so much. I didn’t even request the ARC, I just ended up on a bulk mailing list and got it by surprise. I had it sitting on my shelf for a long time, and then realized it was going to be released soon and thought I should get to it. I wish I would have read this book months ago! It was really a splendid read! I have no hesitation giving it 5 of 5 stars. I highly recommend checking it out from your local library or going to your local indie bookstore and picking up a copy.

Review: Hoodie by Brendon Lancaster

Title: Hoodie

Author: Brendon Lancaster site

Format: Ebook, 309 pages

Published: 5/28/2009

Publisher: Self Published

Source: Received from author for review

Challenges: Ebook Reading Challenge (hosted by Workaday Reads), and the Self-Published Reading Challenge (hosted by Workaday Reads)

“Hoodie tells the story of Ben a contemporary urban anti-hero, struggling to retain his integrity in a world of shifting values and find direction where few choices exist.  During his ‘summer of love’, we follow his attempts to engage with the real world with frustration and compassion.  Along the way he meets his previously unknown father in the most unexpected circumstances and discovers that there is more to his best friend’s loyalty than he ever suspected.  His experiences of job-hunting will resonate with anyone who has gone down that road.  He discovers that sex can be ugly and exploitative, and that maybe his mum is a person after all.

The story covers topical and controversial issues in a thought provoking manner and provides the perfect antidote to alarmist right wing reporting of youth issues, exploring the problems of modern day Britain from the perspective of a disempowered, disaffected teenager.  Its blend of up to date edgy realism, dream like escapism, gritty hard hitting action, humour and tragedy provides a broad appeal to adult and youth alike.”

-Author

Basic Synopsis:

Ben, known as “Hoodie” to his friends “The Shady boys”, has decided that he is going to skip school altogether and just find a job and move on in his life. A local homeless man called “Old Joe” gives him a palm reading and discovers that Ben has the rare “simian lines” on his palms. This only fuels his ambition to start his life now. How will Ben and his friends fare in this coming of age story.

Characters:

Ben is the definition of the double simian lines on his palms. It is supposed to mean that his head and heart lines are one and the same, and in total harmony. He’s ambitious, impulsive, and very easy going. He’s very empathetic to other people. It’s hard for me to say whether I liked Ben as a character as he wasn’t very opinionated, except about the legality of marijuana. But I did like that he was an imperfect character. No PCD. I could go either way.

As for all of the supporting characters, I found them very transparent from the start. I could tell which of the group of friends had a thing for Ben. And which of his friends wouldn’t end up doing the right thing. I wish they would have been a little more mysterious.

Plot and Story:

To put it plainly, Hoodie was very slow paced. Too slow paced for me. When a book is slow paced, I usually find myself getting distracted by other things. And when I get distracted I end up rereading sentences over and over. Monotony isn’t good for me.

One of the parts I liked the most in Hoodie were the part were Ben has vivid dreams from the point of view of different animals. They were very well written, faster in pace, and just plain interesting. The only problem is that these dreams don’t really seem to mean anything in regards to the story. They were good but unnecessary.  

Overall:

Unfortunately I didn’t love Hoodie. It was a book that intrigued me, but didn’t impress me. There’s not much else to say. I give it 2.5 of 5 stars. 

Review: You Have Seven Messages by Stewart Lewis

Title: You Have Seven Messages

Author: Stewart Lewis site

Format: Hardcover, 304 pages

Published: 9/13/2011

Publisher: Delacorte Press (Random House)

Source: Received from Book Divas for review

Challenges: Standalone Reading Challenge (hosted by Icey Books), and the Completely Contemp Challenge (hosted by Chick Loves Lit)

“It's been a year since Luna's mother, the fashion-model wife of a successful film director, was hit and killed by a taxi in New York's East Village. Luna, her father, and her little brother, Tile, are still struggling with grief.

   When Luna goes to clean out her mother's old studio, she's stunned to find her mom's cell phone there—charged and holding seven unheard messages. As Luna begins to listen to them, she learns more about her mother's life than she ever wanted to know . . . and she comes to realize that the tidy tale she's been told about her mother's death may not be the whole truth.”

-Goodreads

Basic Summary:

Luna finds her mother’s cell phone a year after her sudden death, and finds seven voice mail messages. As Luna listens to the messages and meets the people behind them, she learns that her mother had many secrets and may have been cheating on her father. Is Luna willing to forgive and forget for the ones she loves?

The main theme of the book seemed to be forgiveness or learning to forgive. Whether Luna could forgive her dead mother for past wrongs, her father for keeping secrets, and her boyfriend for cheating on her.

Characters:

Luna wasn’t very memorable for me. She seemed have a more breezy and optimistic perspective. She had some interesting insights, but also some weird and downright preachy ones. Her younger brother, Tile, was really funny. I ended up liking him much more than his sister. And I can’t say that I cared for Oliver, the love interest, either. When weird and odd things happened between them, he didn’t really explain his actions much. I didn’t like that Luna just accepted everything he did either.

Plot and Story:

Maybe I’m alone in thinking this, but the official synopsis seems to imply that the main focus of the story is the mystery surrounding the seven messages on her late mother’s cell phone. But that part of the story really takes a back seat to all the other happenings in the book. For example, Luna’s romance with Oliver. The rest of the book was a lot rest interesting to me and I think I would have liked it better had the mystery of the messages been more of a focal point.

Overall:

I was bored reading this book. If I had not had to review it, I probably would have put it down. It had good intentions but for me it was ultimately not worth reading. All in all, You Have Seven Messages get a rating of 2.5 of 5.

100 Follower Giveaway!

<center><a href=" http://novelminded.blogspot.com/2012/05/100-follower-giveaway.html "><img border="0" src="http://i1130.photobucket.com/albums/m521/ladystingray/100followercopy.jpg"/></a></center>

It finally happened. After 8 months of blogging and 26 book reviews, Novel Minded got 100 GFC followers! (And 138 Twitter followers!) Yay! As a thank you to all my followers, I'm hosting a giveaway. Enough of that, let's get on to the details.

The Nitty Gritty

• There are 3 prize pack, and 3 individual winners.
• You do not need to follow to enter, though it will get you extra entries.
• This giveaway is US only. Sorry, but I'm paying for the shipping.
• You will have 48 hours to respond before I draw a new winner.
• Only Rafflecopter entries will be counted. Do not leave entries in the comments section.

There will be 3 winners. The first winner will receive a paperback copy of "Across the Universe" by Beth Revis, a signed sticker, bookmark, book plate, and a pink rubber bracelet. The second and third winners will receive both a pink and a glow-in-the-dark rubber bracelet.

**Update**

I was "moderating" the Rafflecopter entries for my other giveaway and discovered an impossibly large number of entries from one individual, under the guise of many. I thought this should have been obvious, but only one set of entries per individual. I check ALL entries for authenticity and will delete any phony entries. 

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Just Because Giveaway: "The Golden Lily" by Richelle Mead Autographed ARC and Posters

Last month, the RT Booklover convention was held in the Chicago area and I got to go to there Teen Day with some friends. At the end, they handed out gift bags loaded with all kinds of books, swag, and ARCs. I was lucky enough to get an ARC of "The Golden Lily" by Richelle Mead and a poster autographed at the convention. And just because I'm so nice (and I need to start getting some things out of my house), I decided to do a giveaway.

I have two prizes/prize packs available. The first prize winner will receive signed ARC of The Golden Lily by Richelle Mead and a poster. The second place winner will receive a signed poster. 

You don't have to follow to enter, although it will get you more entries. This giveaway is US only. Please do not leave entries in the comments section, only Rafflecopter entries will be counted. 


**Update**

I was "moderating" the Rafflecopter entries and discover an impossibly large number of entries from one individual, under the guise of many. I thought this should have been obvious, but only one set of entries per individual. I check ALL entries for authenticity and will delete any phony entries. 

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Review: Happy Families by Tanita S. Davis

Title: Happy Families

Author: Tanita S. Davis site

Format: eARC, 237 pages

Release Date: 5/8/2012

Publisher: Knopf Books for Young Readers (Random House)

Source: Netgalley

Challenges: Ebook Reading Challenge (hosted by Workaday Reads), Standalone Reading Challenge (hosted by Icey Books), and the Completely Contemp Challenge (hosted by Chick Loves Lit)

“Teenage twins Ysabel and Justin Nicholas are lucky. Ysabel's jewelry designs have already caught the eyes of the art world and Justin's intelligence and drive are sure to gain him entrance into the most prestigious of colleges. They even like their parents. But their father has a secret—one that threatens to destroy the twins' happy family and life as they know it.

Over the course of spring break, Ysabel and Justin will be forced to come to terms with their dad's new life, but can they overcome their fears to piece together their happy family again?”

-Goodreads

Basic Summary:

Twins Ysabel and Justin had the perfect, happy, Christian family. But things change when their father is discovered to be transgender. Their father moves out of the house, and things fall apart. Ysabel and Justin are then forced to spend spring break with their father in an attempt to mend their broken family.

Characters:

Justin and Ysabel’s narrative voices were too similar, they needed to be more differentiated. It was often hard to discern whose point of view I was reading. Neither character came off the page for me; they were both kind of bland and flat.

One of the highlights of the book for me was when Ysabel would do her torchwork. It was an art form I hadn’t ever heard of, and I thought it was really cool. The way it was described, I could perfectly picture it in my head. It totally made me want to learn to make glass beads.

Plot and Story:

What really had me interested to read Happy Families was the subject matter. YA fiction about transgender individuals and their families aren’t all that common. I really liked it for the first half of the book, but toward the end it got kind of strange.

The ending seemed to be both Ysabel and Justin deciding they were okay with their father, and then suddenly changing their minds over and over again. And I feel like there wasn’t a lot of closure in the ending either. Now, I don’t need things tied up in a tidy bow but there were a lot of things left up in the air. Such as what Justin planned to do about his girlfriend.

Overall:

I really liked the premise of Happy Families, but it just didn’t come together for me.  The characters didn’t seem “real” enough. I liked the first half of the book, but it kind of went downhill from there.  Final verdict, 3 of 5 stars.